PR

As the world watched, the government of Chile showed not only leadership, but remarkable PR and communications savvy as it sought to free 33 miners trapped underground for over two months. Its handling of the ordeal was like a mirror image of the BP disaster. Here are some crisis management learnings we can unearth from… Read more

Recently I sat through another firm’s presentation at a client offsite and realized by the end of the session that I had spent 20 minutes admiring their slides. The presentation template had nicely rounded text boxes in pleasing pastels and clean, elegant fonts. The text was minimal and uncluttered. What was the content? Um…. I’ll get back… Read more

An episode of “Mad Men” featured Don Draper and Peggy Olson wrestling with a tough creative challenge – how to dream up a breakthrough campaign for Samsonite. Don dismisses a celebrity pitchman as a “lazy” strategy, then criticizes Peggy’s next round of ideas as variations on a theme – a boring one. At Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce, a booze-soaked all-nighter… Read more

This week’s news that ad and PR behemoth Interpublic Group has launched Rally, a social media unit, has the industry buzzing. The launch gave fresh fodder to the old turf debate, spiced with speculation about infighting under a single corporate roof. EVP Heidi Browning says Rally won’t mean new competition for IPG-owned PR firms. Insiders say… Read more

The term “PR disaster” is thrown around a lot these days. But unlike man-made catastrophes that wreak Gulf-spill-sized reputation damage, the McChrystal debacle is a direct result of poor PR. After all, it was the clumsy handling of an ill-advised press interview that lost the reputation war and the General his job this week. Or… Read more

Let’s get one thing straight. The Gulf Oil spill isn’t a PR problem. It’s an environmental disaster that no PR team, no matter how skilled, could clean up. The public relations crisis comes with BP’s lack of preparedness for the gusher, and with the communications in its wake. But, all calamities offer learnings. What lessons can we extract from… Read more

To me, the international PR and gadget-fest that is the Consumer Electronics Show has always been an adrenaline-charged kick-off for the new year. For starters, it’s in Las Vegas, where everyone’s welcome, and anything – and I do mean anything – goes. Both the show and the town are an orgy of imagination and commerce,… Read more

It sounds so easy. Instead of hiring a pricey ad agency or PR firm, just tap into the wisdom of the crowd to market your product. After all, they’re the ones buying it. Crowdsourcing is being touted as the latest trend in creative services, from logo design to advertising. Yet, most so-called crowdsourcing initiatives don’t… Read more